tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30116234.post8873753208490150037..comments2023-04-02T05:53:11.429-05:00Comments on Buddhist [from] Nebraska: Four ThousandMonicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17336284049302046478noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30116234.post-5419698248485123972008-03-31T12:50:00.000-05:002008-03-31T12:50:00.000-05:00I suppose death has a certain finality (so we tend...I suppose death has a certain finality (so we tend to think, anyway) which makes its acknowledgment profound and universal. Whereas there is always the possibility of recovery for those still living, even though they may suffer from a traumatic past or find themselves trapped in a damaging present. One of the strongest defense mechanisms we posess is delusion, denial. Too often we cannot even see our own suffering.<BR/><BR/>I have not had the same experiences with the military as you, so my perspective is different. However, I believe you are painting a quarter million people with a very broad brush. Not to say it is untrue, only that it has not been my experience. The people I know who have joined the military have all been bright young minds with open futures. They didn't need the army to go to college. But then I am definately only seeing one side of the coin, the officer corp, which is so much smaller and drastically different from the enlisted ranks I am told.<BR/><BR/>I had a friend who I knew before I worked for the ROTC, Jake. He had been an Army Ranger in his youth. He was a great martial artist, poet, and painter. We talked occassionally about the military and I asked him if it was true that violent crime (such as domestic abuse) was more common in the military. He believed it was because in order to join the military one had to already believe some things could, in fact, be solved by violence. Then in boot camp, that propensity was deliberately enhanced. Despite that, he always spoke highly of his time in the military and after 9/11 he actually reenlisted, despite being 37 years old. I liked Jake and trusted him and knew he would never hurt any of us. <BR/><BR/>Sometimes I don't know how to reconcile the truth I see in the people I have met and been friends with, Jake, Tony, Bede, Brett, and Kevin - all good, honest, decent, intelligent men - with the reality of what the military does to people, the horrible price it inflicts on pleople like your family.<BR/><BR/>I don't know how to reconcile the war torn histories of nations like China and Japan with their Buddhist heritage.<BR/><BR/>I found this blog recently. http://buddhistmilitarysangha.blogspot.com/ I read it sometimes and try to understand. I think I am a long way off.Monicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03489993418924786293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30116234.post-57356200636326691562008-03-27T20:46:00.000-05:002008-03-27T20:46:00.000-05:00War or no war, I firmly believe that the military ...War or no war, I firmly believe that the military is a bad deal. We join because of too few options, too little money, too little opportunity to imagine other ways to be a hero. <BR/><BR/>Call me pessimistic, but I wish I lived in a country where more people thought there was something worth doing with their lives other than giving them away to the powers that be.<BR/><BR/>I mourn for the four thousand who have lost their futures; I ache for the thousands who are losing their presence, and I regret for the hundred of thousands (like my mother) who have lost their past.<BR/><BR/>Why don't we ever talk about the last two losses?Techie Trannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00634528686046930438noreply@blogger.com